Sunday, June 30, 2013

Why are People Getting Tired of Mainstream Social Media?

by M.K.

Alltechnologies run out of their usefulness at some point unless they stay freshand innovative. While mainstream social networks such as Facebook, Twitter,LinkedIn and others have seen an unprecedented growth over the last decade orso, there has not been much innovation to keep users engaged. After all, howmany times can you read information about your friends' visits to burger jointsor drinking coffee at Starbucks? Even updates about their jobs and families cangrow either boring or overwhelming. And sometimes it's just TMI (Too MuchInformation) about their lives.

Accordingto a recent study by Pew Internet and American Life Project, there are clearsigns of Facebook fatigue among teenagers. Other studies have found the sametrend across the board as people are growing increasingly tired of meaninglessposts.

It's notbecause people don't have enough to talk about. After all, when you meet yourfriends in person, they can blabber on for hours. If this is the case, thenwhey are they posting simple and stupid comments? The reason is simple. Peoplejust don't feel comfortable expressing their true feelings on social media dueto negative implications. If you say something negative about your boss orcompany, for example, you may get reprimanded or, worse, get fired. If you talkabout your political affiliation, then you might piss off your colleagues,bosses or even family members. You certainly can't talk about sex, disputeswith your significant others, your thoughts on religion/God, your addictionissues, and many other taboo topics.